


Because Of You

by haydenxliam



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: #Avengers Tower, #Marvel - Freeform, #Post Captain America 2, #angst #lots of angst #parents death, #avengers, #avengers movies, #black widow, #bruce banner, #captain america, #clint barton, #comfort, #friendship, #grief, #grieving, #hawkeye, #hulk, #iron man, #love, #natasha romanoff, #natasha romanov, #pain, #puppy love, #reader, #steve rogers, #team work, #thor - Freeform, #tony stark, #you, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haydenxliam/pseuds/haydenxliam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you get a call from your mother saying your father die, hell breaks lose in your life. Fortunately, a caring Steve Rogers (and a great team called The Avengers) are there to pick up the pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Picking up the pieces.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I love Marvel and I love Steve Rogers, so I thought why not?

You were in your room at the Avengers Tower. Your mother just hang up a call with you. You father's dead, according to what she said. When you were a kid, you were inseparable. But as you grew older, your problems did too. And your relationship ended the second you graduated from college. 

You sat in your bed, trying to analyze the whole thing. The funeral was tomorrow. It was around eight by now. He died yesterday, but your mother didn't know how to tell you. 

You didn't leave your room that night. You didn't tell any of the Avengers, otherwise they'd start asking questions. You just laid in your bed, eyes open all night. You didn't sleep, you didn't cry. You just... laid there till next morning. 

You got up from your bed around eight, went to your bathroom and took a shower, catatonic, staring at the wall until JARVIS called for you.

"Miss, is everything okay?"  
No. "Yeah," you lied. "Yeah, it's all good." 

But you weren't okay. Nothing was good. You just pretended. You got out of the shower, put on a nice black dress and black heels, your hair loose. You stared at yourself in the mirror, thinking about the fact that you don't have a father. 

"You can get through this," you told yourself. 

You took your purse, putting your phone and your car keys there and got out of the room without putting make-up on, thinking you may cry later. 

You walked straight towards the elevator, trying to not run on anyone. Sadly, you did. 

"Hey," Clint greeted. "Where are you going? And dressed like that?"  
You were tired, so you admitted it. "My dad died."  
Clint's eyes widened. "Wh- What?"  
"Yeah, I'm heading to the funeral," you said and got in the elevator. "See you later." 

And Clint as soon as the elevator closed ran to the dining room. The Avengers were sitting there, having breakfast, your seat and Clint's seat empty.

"Clint?" Natasha called him. "Did you look for her?"  
"Yeah," Clint affirmed. "Her father died."  
All the Avengers turned their head around to see him. "What?" Bruce asked.  
"Yeah. The only member of the team that actually has parents, one of them just died."  
The Avengers looked at each other. "So what do we do?" Tony asked.  
"We pick up the pieces," Steve said.  
He got up and everyone else followed. "JARVIS, turn on the tracker I gave (y/n)," Tony demanded.  
"Yes, sir." 

The Avengers got into one of Tony's cars and went to the cemetery. It hadn't begun yet. Your mother was in one of the front chairs, receiving condolences from people who only pity her. There was a seat next to her, probably saved for you. 

You sat on that chair. "Mom," you greeted her.  
She looked at you. "Honey!" 

You hugged her and her now red eyes began to cry. You rubbed her back as your eyes watered, but you blinked a few times to dry them. You couldn't cry. You had to stay strong for your mom. 

The world knew you were an Avenger, but you didn't care. You were honoring your dad. He deserved a proper funeral, even if you didn't remember your last words to each other. Although it involved a lot of hate you's and words like «I wish you weren't my father» involved. 

Tony's car parked six feet away, going unnoticed. Steve, Tony and Clint had baseball caps and sunglasses, Natasha in a hoodie, and Bruce was... Bruce. People didn't know Bruce, they knew The Other Guy. The team sat on the last row where no one was sitting. Thor was missing. He was in Asgard, fixing his family issues, you assumed. 

You held your mother's hand the whole time, through every word from the priest. You sighed when it ended. 

"Would anyone like to say a few words?" he asked. 

You lifted your hand. Not instantly, but you did, not really knowing what to say. But saying something would be the right thing. You got up, taking the priest's place. 

"Thank you," you said. 

You looked at the people, noticing the Avengers. One, Clint, you believed, waved at you. You didn't care they were there. Right now, you just thought of keeping it together till it was over. 

"Hmmm... I- I remember once, when I was around fifteen, I told my dad something: promise me you'll be alive to take me down the aisle," you quoted. "But then again he always had trouble keeping promises," your mom sadly chuckled when you said that. "And I remember that the last time I saw him I said the exact opposite to I love you. It was on my to do list to talk to him again, but apparently I ran out of time. So if you love someone: tell them, again and again. If you're fighting with someone, make up. Don't let it be too late. You'll regret it." 

When you finished your speech, you walked towards your seat again and your mom hugged you. You didn't have any fights to mend, but you surely did have feelings to tell. You were in love with Steve, but this kind of job... it made you think he didn't have time for that. But now you were reconsidering. 

When it all ended, your mother walked you to your car. "Please, honey. Join us."  
"I'm sorry, mom. I can't," you justified. "But I'll stop by tomorrow, okay?"  
She sighed. "Fine, but...," she got a white envelope out of her purse, "...your dad wrote you this," you took the envelope on your hands. "He did it a year ago, I think." 

You put the envelope in your purse and hug your mother before going to the driver seat. The Avengers are a few feet away from you, Tony turning on the engine to go. You got to the Tower first than the others. Your tiredness was so big you fell asleep the second you hit the mattress. 

Steve, when the Avengers got to the Tower, went to your room. He softly knocked, but when you didn't answer he opened the door. He saw you there, peacefully sleeping. He didn't want to disturb you, so he grabbed the blanket on the end of your bed and covered you with it. His heart ached due to your pain, but he had to stay strong in case you fell apart. Pick up the pieces.

Later, Tony and Bruce were in the lab, working on something they hoped wasn't destructive. 

"I just feel bad for her," Bruce commented about your emotional state.  
"I am too, Brucey. And if she breaks, we put her back together. Or call the Captain."  
"Steve? Why?"  
"He's in love with her, Big Guy. Or haven't you noticed?"  
"No, I haven't."  
"Well, Capsicle is head over heels for the woman."  
"How do you know that?"  
"I recognize love when I see it." 

Clint and Steve were watching TV in the living room when Natasha came back from training. You woke up and it was around seven, your belly roaring of hunger. You haven't eaten since yesterday, and you'd pass out if you didn't. 

So you silently got out of your room and went to the kitchen. There were two slices of pizza in a box on the fridge. You put them on a plate and into the microwave, the envelope your mother gave you earlier in your thoughts. You'd read it later, because if you did now, you'd literally pass out. And you'd read it with a special scotch from Tony's stock. 

You sat on the dining room and ate your pizza. Slowly, quietly, hoping none of the Avengers came. You're not in the mood for pity eyes. You remembered that night with your dad, when you two were fighting. You can't even remember what you were fighting about, and because of that meaningless fight you were in pain right now. 

As your eyes watered, you put away your plate and go to your room to pick up that later. On your way back you grab the half full bottle of scotch and a small glass, pouring a stream when you got to the table. You drank it and filled it again, the same amount. Unprepared, you opened the envelope. It was a letter. 

«Dear, (y/n).  
Hey, kiddo. I meant to send you this a long time ago, but then I decided it'd be better to save it for when I was gone. And if you're reading this, then my heart is no longer beating. I'm sorry, for not keeping all the promises I made you, for taking you for granted, for not being there for you. Your mother told me so many times I would lose you if I didn't took you seriously, that you'd still go your way to live your life because you didn't want to end up like us... I guess she was right. I didn't want for the last words I said to you that you remember were "Leave!", so here I am. And I love you. You became what you wanted to become: a hero, a leader. And for that, I'm extremely proud. So keep doing what you do, or don't if you don't want to. Either way, I will still love you. And I hope not to see you anytime soon here on the other side. 

With love, Dad»

You were finally crying. You cried during the whole thing. You drank the liquid on the glass and held the letter in your chest, tight, crying. He was gone. The last words he remembers about you were you saying that you hated him. And now, here he was, saying that he loved you despite that. 

You couldn't take it anymore. You heart ached so much. You couldn't make it right. You felt so alone. You wanted to tell your dad how much you truly loved him, how you were sorry for everything. But you couldn't. Not anymore. 

"Dad, I'm- I'm sorry," you mumbled between tears. "I love you." 

You didn't hear Steve come in. He didn't make any noise. He just walked towards you and wrapped his arms around your neck, alarming you. "It's me, it's me," you relaxed when you heard his voice. You held his arms with your hands and put your head in them, your eyes filling with tears again. "It's okay, it's okay," he kissed your head. "It's gonna be okay."  
"He's- He's gone."  
"I know, I know." 

And the realization only made you cry more and more. And Steve was there through it all. He was staying strong so you could be weak. He was picking up the pieces, because he cared for you. Because he loved you. 

With time, Steve sat next to you. You both were sharing the glass, you telling him anecdotes about you and your dad, him laughing more than the one before. Yeah, your dad was a pretty funny guy. 

"I remember once he bought ice cream to all my friends, and when I got out of class, he was like «oops, sorry, we're out»," you said.  
"No way?"  
"Yeah. And all my friends said he was the coolest dad ever."  
"Well, he does sound cool."  
"Yeah...," you mumbled and drank from the glass again.  
"I think that's enough for you for one night," Steve got up. "C'mon, time to go to bed."  
"Are you gonna make me?"  
"Yes."

You didn't want to argue. You were grieving, but your eyes were swollen and you were tired. So you got up. You had a blurred sight so Steve helped you out a little. You were conscious, but your sight wasn't, apparently. 

He put you to bed and sat next to you as you were under the covers, waiting for you to fall asleep. You didn't though. 

"Why are you doing this?" you asked him.  
"Doing what?"  
"Helping me."  
"Because we're a team," «and I love you» he meant to say, but it wasn't the right time.  
"You're a good man, Steve Rogers," you stated. "Too good." 

Caught in the moment, you gave him a chaste kiss. He'd probably think it was the alcohol, and he was going to stop you if you went further. So you pulled away and looked at him. 

"You can go. I'll be okay." 

But he surely wouldn't be with the mixed emotions in his head and heart.


	2. Until your love comes back around.

t's been two months since your father died. For two weeks, you were a walking mess. You lost a few pounds for not eating, your eyes were always swollen from not sleeping and just crying, you were in bed or in the bathtub all day, fighting the punching bag all night. It hit you hard. 

But one day, Bruce came on knocking at your door. 

"Leave!" you yelled, throwing a pillow at the closed door.  
Bruce opened the door. "Oh, okay," he said, picking up the pillow.  
"Leave me alone."  
"No," he gave you the pillow back, leaving it in your bed. "I won't."  
"Why not?" you asked without looking.  
"Because you're not alone." 

You didn't look back. Bruce was like a brother to you, just like Tony, Thor and Clint. Natasha was basically your sister to you, even if she felt she had no family left in the world. But Bruce was the big scary secretly-loving brother. 

"Look, (y/n). We know this must be hard for you-"  
"You do?" You asked him, upset, looking at him. "Tell me how much you know."  
"Well, none of us have alive parents. We all went through that grieve you're suffering right now. It's not easy to overcome, but I'm sure your dad would've wanted you to live your life and not stay in a room crying because you think he thought you hated him before he died."  
"And doesn't he?"  
"(Y/N), parents know their kids love them. He knew you loved him. He forgave you the second you said the words," Bruce answered. "I think the question is if you're going to forgive yourself."

You realized that wisdom does make the years. So you slept that day till noon and things began to take a turn. You'd have aerobic training with Natasha, bother/help Bruce and Tony at the lab (recovering your usual fights with Tony, of course), go shoot with Clint, see your relationship with Steve change (in a good way) and sometimes you'd get together and play Poker in the dining room. 

You weren't completely healed, but you were an eighty-five percent fine and that was over the range in this kind of life. 

"Poker?" Clint asked to the team.  
"No, no way, Legolas. Last time we played, I ended up with no cash on my wallet."  
"Same," you said.  
"Same," Natasha supported.  
"It's not my fault you suck!"  
"You suck!" Tony exclaimed.  
"Miss (y/l/n), Mr. Rogers. is ready for your training session."  
"Thanks, JARVIS."  
The Avengers looked at you. "Training session?" Tony asked you.  
"Shut up." 

You walked out of there to the gym, where Steve wasn't. Out of nowhere, he tried to punch you and you dodged it. 

"What the hell?!" you exclaimed, perplexed.  
"Reflexes." 

He tried again, and again. It was basically a fight. Just that Steve was too slow and you were a master in reflexes. You moved a lot around the gym just dodging and punching. Till you ended up against the wall. 

"You done with your reflexes lesson?"  
"Yes."  
"You know I already know all this right?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"And you know I'm only against this wall because I want to, right?"  
"Ye- What?" 

And then it all turned awkward. You walked around the gym, searching for something to say as Steve stood there, waiting for you to talk. You remembered the speech on your father's funeral. He wanted you to find love. And you wouldn't know if you'd get killed in the next mission. So you buckled up your courage. 

"For a while now, I- You- I... I love you. And I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I had to say it out loud. I love you." 

Steve, with a smirk on his face, came to you. He put you against the other wall, leaving you totally breathless. 

"I love you too." 

He pulled you in for a kiss. A soft one that became desperate. Your hands on his neck, his hands through your back. He lifted you as you wrapped your legs around his waist, keeping the flame alive. 

"Yes!" you hear Tony yell.  
You two stop kissing. "Dumb cameras," Steve said, you chuckling.  
"Let him. It's the only action he's getting."  
"Hey!" Tony exclaimed and you resumed the kiss, smiles on your faces.


End file.
